Ninja Support
by Herdo
Summary: This is a short and shitty AU fic about ninjas giving telephone support to other ninjas on how to be ninjas. And it is also about Naruto's hard work to get a pretty decent salary and his various attempts to build a successful career in the Ninja service department of Fire Nation.
1. Evaluation

_**Ninja Support**_

_**Chapter one**_

_**Evaluation**_

* * *

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The silver-haired thin masked man was greeted by the new guy who had a huge smile plastered on his face. Kakashi glanced at the name tag. _**Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze**_.

"Likewise. Great to have a man of your caliber aboard. Welcome to the Ninja service department of Fire Nation. I'm Kakashi and I've been in charge of the Elite ninja department for the past two years. By the way, I'm a big fan of your father."

Kakashi gestured that Naruto should follow him and soon they were walking through the boring corridors of the office.

"I'm expecting many things from you. Minato-sama is the chief executive officer of this company and I am sure that you have the same awesome talent that he have. And this letter of recommendation from Shikaku-dono from the Human resources department."

He showed a closed letter that he had been holding for the past twenty minutes.

"That man is usually so strict but he stamped the letter with the **awesome** stamp. And let me tell you this: no one, not even the legendary S-class ninjas, have gotten that stamp."

The duo stopped outside a door that said **Elite ninja department**.

"Now then, any questions before you meet your new colleagues? I assume that you've informed of what your new work tasks consists of?"

"Yeah, I got a few question but one is quite important since it showed up a lot on the tests I took earlier."

Kakashi chuckled. Guess even prodigies can feel insecure of themselves.

"Alright. Ask them and I'll do my best to answer them."

"Cool. So what is this '_Chakra_'-thingy?"

"..."

"..?"

"And you're _really_ the son of Minato Namikaze?"

"...Yes..?"

"Follow me. We're gonna do my own personal evaluation of your skills and knowledge. Ever heard of an exercise that is called '_Get a bell without dying_'?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

"Good. Then this will be fun. Now, let's go to the training center."

* * *

Previously in the HR department:

"Hey Shikaku! Are you still not done with the whole 'new recruits' thing?"

"Meh. I've looked at these papers and letters for the last two hours but I still can't find any fucks that I can give about them."

The pineapple head inhale some poison from his cigarette.

"I can't stand this anymore. Chõza, get me the random stamps from the storage. I need to be done with this today and I can't be bothered to do this the normal way, so lady luck will decide the fates of these new recruits."

Shikaku soon got the stamps and started stamping the letters at random. And one letter in particular, which was marked with the name _**Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze**_ was lucky enough to get the ultra-rare **awesome** stamp.

* * *

"Cool room."

"Yeah, the training center is pretty cool. It's amazing what one can do with a little _ninjutsu_."

The duo had descended a few floors and were now standing in a huge circular room with a dome shaped ceiling.

"We'll start the exercise in a few moments. Let me get started with the preparations." Kakashi took out a scroll from one of his pockets and then bit his right thumb until he drew blood.

And then he did four strange hand gestures while holding the scroll, which caused it to be painted with the red liquid and then he slammed the scroll into the stone floor as he shouted with a loud and dramatic voice the name of the technique:

"Summoning: Earth release: Dog Golems!"

Eight squiggly lines of some strange writing poured out from the scrolls and flowed until they all had created a radius of five meters. Then figures began to rise from the very edges of these lines.

"Now behold Naruto, as you gaze upon my private army!"

"..."

"...Why do these stone statues have real dog heads?"

It was a natural reaction. After all, it looked _really_ creepy and gross.

"Kakashi you bastard! We told you to stop using this technique!"

" Yeah! It's embarrassing!"

"And we fight better without these damn slow and uncomfortable things!"

The dog heads were barking and complaining to their summoner.

"... And why do they talk..?"

Kakashi sighed at the lack of awe that he had been expecting. But he formed a single hand seal which sent a tiny current of spit at the muzzle of the dog golem in front of him, which made them all whimper.

"You lot; be quiet. Naruto; these are ninja dogs. There are two primary reason why they can talk: Chakra and selective breeding. The 'statues' are golems and they are similar to power armor. And I like to give power armor to my ninja dogs since power armors make every single fight much more awesome."

He turned to the right, which was an empty wall.

"Alright you guys, release the _bell_!"

The wall groaned as a hidden hatch was opened and from that small rectangular hole a... brown cat with a red ribbon walked out like it owned the world.

A small bell were attached to its luxurious collar.

"Let me do the introductions. Everyone, this is Tora. Tora, these are your opponents." The cat did not listen, as it did not give a fuck as it continued its stroll along the circular wall.

The dogs on the other side, _listened_. They had adopted a feral look in their eyes at the sight of their natural prey.

And Naruto continued to look confused.

"The _'Get a bell without dying' _exercise is a simple exercise. All you have to do is direct the dog golems by giving them instructions and/or advice so they can steal the bell from the cat. But while you do that, I will target both you and the dog golems with chakra techniques that are called _'Ninjutsu'_ from the center of this room. By the way, you'll need this."

Kakashi unfolded something from one of his pockets and threw it to Naruto who caught it.

It was a device of some kind.

"This is a device that is known as the headset. It is a tool for communication that allows you to speak with the customer who is calling in, which in this case are the dog golems. The headset will be your primary tool while working here with us, so I suggest that you quickly figure out how to use it."

Kakashi walked into the center of the room.

"Let me repeat the main points of this exercise:  
1) Use the headset to direct and guide the dog golems so that they can steal the bell from Tora. You must speak into the headset or else the power armors won't obey your directions.  
2) Ensure that neither you nor the dog golems are killed by my techniques. I will use one technique every fifteen second.  
Any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one! What the hell does this have to do with being a ninja!?" Naruto tsukkomi'ed.

"Hehehe. This exercise have two points. One is to show you what _chakra_ is and how to use it. And the other is to give you an idea of what we do here on Ninja service department of Fire Nation. As for what it has to do with being a ninja..."

Kakashi removed headband that covered his left eye, revealing a strange and unnatural red eye beneath, in which three _tomoes_ spun slowly.

"...It has everything to do with it... Now, let's start the exercise!"

And then he quickly began forming hand seals.

"Wind Release: Galeforce!"

Kakashi exhaled a blast of air that sent Naruto flying into the wall behind him as he tried to figure out how to put the headset on his head.

_"... I should probably stick with B-rank and lower techniques for now..."_ Kakashi thought as he prepared himself for the next technique while he watched the struggle of the young man.

* * *

"..." Kakashi stared.

"..." Naruto looked ashamed.

"..." Kakashi continued to stare, with a slight flavor of disappointment included.

"... Sorry for not being able to save the doggies."

"Don't worry about that. The armor protected them. But I am seriously disappointed."

"You still didn't have to go that far with your magic."

"It's called ninjutsu and the word 'dying' in the exercise implies that I aim to kill. But that is not the main issue. It took you two minutes to figure out how to put on the headset. The customer was unable to speak with you despite the fact that the call was during office hours which is both shameful for us and lethal for them, as they now were charred to a crisp by my attack."

"Can't the customer dodge attacks like that on their own?"

"Never assume what a human can and cannot do. What may seem as obvious to us could be something the customer have never heard or experienced before, meaning they don't know how to act."

Kakashi went back to the center and summoned the dog golems once more.

"Let us try this exercise again, and now with the support agent available through the headset. Naruto, please press the green button on the headset and get ready on my signal."

Naruto pressed the tiny green button and then felt something. Something powerful yet calming. He could somehow feel himself and he could sense the presence of eight other figures.

"Now you have a minor understanding of how this business works. The headset synchronizes us with the customer with the help of chakra, allowing us to be able to see their situation with our minds. That is what makes us able to guide them, help them or control them in a few rare situations. There are other devices and abilities that allows us to strengthen the bond between us and the customer but we'll go over the basics of the headset for now.  
And that strange thing that you are feeling is raw chakra. A combination of spiritual and physical energy that all living things has."

Kakashi did a complicated hand signal towards Naruto and then shouted the exciting words:

"Let's begin once more!"

And then he started to form hand seals, a little slower this time...

Naruto acted fast and ran in the left direction in order to avoid the incoming attack while he screamed in the headset "Hey dudes! Dodge whatever Kakashi-san shoots at you! And try to get that bell from the cat while you're at it!"

"BARK! BARK! BARK! Serves you right! Yelling into our precious mind-ears! Geez, the service level has really declined nowadays when compared to when we started as your customers!"

"What kind of ninja whines about that when- Holy shit! Dodge that fireball! Dodge iiiiit!"

The dog golems dodged the Fire technique: Great Fireball with the grace one could expect from 300 kg golems, which was essentially jumping out of the way as it collided into the wall.

"Now, it's dodged! What do you want us to do, and what is your name?!"

"Try to capture the cat so you can steal the bell! And it is rude to ask for someone's name without introducing yourself!"

"Geez, what a crass customer support. But our names are:  
-Pakkun!  
-Bull!  
-Urushi!  
-Shiba!  
-Bisuke!  
-Akino!  
-Ūhei!  
-Guruko!"

"Nice to meet you dudes! I'm Naruto! Now get that cat!"

"But we haven't told you why we called you yet!"

"I know that alrea-"

Kakashi interrupted the loud conversation with a cheerful exclamation and a lot of bubbles: "Water release: Wild Bubble Wave!"

"-Dodge the bubbles! Dodge theeeem!"

"Which way should we dodge towards?!"

"Dodge in a direction without bubbles!"

Kakashi chuckled as he listened to the shouting between the support agent and the dogs. It was not the right way of giving support but it was hilarious to listen to, both for outsiders and fellow support agents within hearing distance.

"Have you found the cat yet by the way?!"

"We haven't told you about why we've called you yet! Stick to the script!"

"Alright fine, why did you make this phone call?"

"We are on a mission to steal a bell from the necklace of a cat that is also to be horribly maimed and a pervert that likes to play dress up is trying to stop us with the aid of his ninjutsu! Now help us with completing our mission please!"

"...Was the maiming and the pervert part really necessary to add?"

"Woof! I am a dog! I will never speak a lie! My raw intentions of pureness will always be broadcasted so that no one can try to talk back to me!"

"Look man, I won't judge you but I will hang up if you don't stop with your offensive attitude."

"Offensive! Why the nerve! I have never been so insulted by a homo stupidiu-"

***CLICK***

Everyone froze when they heard that sound and then turned slowly to Naruto, who removed his headset and then shock his hair in slow motion so that sparkles few. And then he spoke, in a voice that would have fit well in a choir of angels as his cerulean eyes sparkled:

"Man, I never knew that a dog could be such a dick."

Kakashi slapped his face with his palm. This would be a long day...

* * *

"So, do you now understand everything?"

"Yes! I understand!"

"Really..?"

"Dude, you've lectured me for twenty minutes after you stuck me in this hole! I can't feel my legs and I really have to pee!"

Kakashi observed the head which was planted very tenderly into the solid concrete as it begged for mercy and release.

"Alright, last time we try this exercise, then I have to go on lunch. Let me get you out of there."

Kakashi grabbed the head and pulle-

"Ow!" the blond cried out at the minor hair loss.

-d very tenderly from the floor and then went back to the middle, leaving the young man wheezing on the floor as he kept repeating "wiggle your big toe" over and over again.

"Let's begin!"

Naruto staggered back on his feet and started running as he said in a very loud and rapid voice the standard introduction phrase of the Ninja service department of Fire Nation:

"Welcome-to-the-Ninja-support-my-name-is-Naruto-how-can-I-be-of-service-for-you-today-please-dodge-everything-that-looks-like-it-might-be-harmful-during-this-call!"

"Hello! We're trying to steal a bell from a cat and an enemy is attacking us every now and then with ninjutsu!"

"That's lovely! Please catch the cat and dodge all enemy attacks!"

"Why are you shouting?!"

"'Cause I am running around in a circle in the same room as you guys in order to not get killed so I am having some trouble with speaking in a soft tone during this phone call!"

"Alright, I'll report this to your manager later but we'll ignore it for the moment. How do we catch the cat? We're slow and the cat is quick and nimble!"

"Got any catnip?"

"Nope!"

"No rats or mice either?"

"Of course not!"

"Have you tried with pulling the lease on its necklace and see if it slows down?"

"Well, then we would have caught it by now, wouldn't we?!"

"Alright, I think I got it! There's eight of you, right?"

"Ehm, I think so?"

"Good! I want six of you to try to corner the cat! Surround it and once you've cornered it, gang pile it!"

"It would die from the weight!"

"Nonsense! Cats are the ants of mammals! They can carry weights that are many times heavier than their own weight!"

"No, they cannot! And we would still be too heavy! And what about the remaining two dogs?"

"They would serve as a distraction to the enemy, taunting him and all that, so he stops interrupting your work and aim strictly at these two who are trying to tank him!"

"Alright fine! Bull and Guruko! You heard the support agent! Taunt the enemy!"

"Sir, yes sir!"  
"Gotcha covered!"

"And make sure you don't get hit by the ninjutsu magic!" Naruto warned in advance.

Kakashi chuckled at this sight of two dog golems making hilarious offensive gestures against hi-... that gesture... How dare he say about his daddy?!

Kakashi's eye flared red as his rage button was pressed and he made one hand seal and then lowered his arm as he channeled his chakra into a deadly ball of lightning, which then coated his arm in a gauntlet of lightning that thundered with a fury.

"Eat this! Lightning Cutter!"

And then he thrust the arm coated with blinding blue lightning at the dog golems who could only look at the incoming death with terror.

"Hey scarecrow! Eat this!" a voice shouted into his ear from the right, at a distance which was disturbingly close, so Kakashi moved with instinct and aimed his technique to the right, in order to counter the unknown voice with deadly force.

...There was nothing there. But he could swear that he heard-

"Hey Kakashi!"

A voice shouted from behind him and he whirled around, cancelling out his technique so he would not accidentally harm himself-

And was instantly greeted with the warm introduction of two soles and the feet and body that were attached to them which landed on his face with quite high velocity.

"I'm over here!" Naruto screamed as he sent his senior falling downwards due to the force of the kick or landing depending on how one viewed it.

"Oy, we managed to get the bell!"

"Sweet! Great job!" Naruto turned to the mob of dog golems that was harassing the cat.

"Did anyone get hurt?"

"No. The armor protected us. Thank you for your help!"

"You're welcome! Have a nice day!"

***CLICK***

Naruto removed the headset and then stretched his arms over his head.

"Aww yeah, it feels good to help people!"

"I'm glad that you feel like that, 'cause I'm gonna _help_ you now..."  
Naruto froze at the disturbingly calm voice of Kakashi who appeared behind him.

"I now have a basic evaluation of your skills and knowledge. You're not an elite ninja or even a chuunin or a genin. You belong in another department for now. Follow me and I'll take you to it.  
Kakashi dismissed the dog golems and then led the confused young man away, first on a quick toilet break and then to his new work station, which was five minutes away from their previous location.

* * *

"Welcome to your new work station! I hope you'll like it here!"  
Kakashi smiled and Naruto looked _really_ disappointed.  
After all, who would willing work in a department with the name **Academy students and/or rejects department**?


	2. Introductions

_**Ninja Support**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Introductions**_

* * *

"So, you're the new guy?"

"Yeah, I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise. I'm Iruka, the de facto manager of the Academy Students and/or Rejects department. Please, follow me and I'll give you a quick tour of the department."

The young man smiled as he led the rookie that Kakashi-san had thrown at him after a brief explanation of the situation through a shabby corridor. Naruto was kind of surprised by the appearance of this new character. The horizontal scar over the otherwise kind face was kind of distracting, and disturbing.

"I apologize for the mess." Iruka began to speak while he made a vague gesture towards the shabby walls.

"We're seen as the least important department and thus we don't get the same amount of maintenance that the other departments get, despite the fact that we daily handle the largest flow of customer calls. The Board of Directors has not made it a secret that they don't like the implication that the 'useless' students and rejects are our customers, so I think they are working or aiming to slowly but steadily get rid of our department. There are rumors that work that normally would been directed to this department has been outsourced to infamous rogue ninjas."

"Damn, that's a pretty heavy introduction."

Iruka chuckled at the small jab.

"Well, don't worry about it. Kakashi-san told me about your situation and I am sure that this experience will be exactly what you needs in order to learn how this business works."

The duo entered a large room that was filled with smelly booths, loud calling phones and yells and screams that were filled to the brim with inappropriate words.

"Welcome to the foundation of Ninja service department of Fire Nation and the very core of ninja support: the department of Academy Students and/or Rejects!"

* * *

"We'll do a proper introduction later during lunch but we'll start with some quick introductions. Please, follow me."

Iruka walked up to the closest booth, that was occupied by a man with white hair, who was doodling with a bored face as he clearly paid no attention to the speaking customer.

"Naruto, this is Mizuki. He's the reason why I am here."

They went to the second booth, which was occupied by a bespectacled woman who, for some reason, kept throwing pens and random office material at one of the walls while apparently doing her best to keep herself from screaming with rage.

"Naruto, this is Suzume. She's been under a lot of stress during these last few weeks so please don't mind her moments of rage."

The third booth contained a youth with a hairstyle a pineapple. However, he was clearly a weirdo, as he only gave one-word replies before he hung up on all incoming calls:  
"No." ***Click***  
"Troublesome." ***Click* **  
"No." ***Click***  
"No." ***Click***  
"King." ***Click***  
"No." ***Click***

"Naruto, this is our genius Shikamaru. He is the primary reason why we manage to uphold our Service-Level Agreement. No queues will survive against his laziness!"

The fifth booth contained an old man who was talking very slowly to an enraged customer.

"Naruto, this is Kosuke. He is one of the most experienced in this department."

The sixth booth contained a young woman, who clearly should not be there, at all.

"Naruto, this is Yakumo. She is our genjutsu specialist, but she is a little shy so please be careful."

"Shy!? She is vomiting blood! Why the hell isn't she in the hospital!?"

Iruka glanced inside the booth, as she gargled a bloody reply to the customer through the headset.

"What are you talking about? She looks much livelier than usual. And the blood is so bright red. She is obviously in a very good condition today."

"Bright red!? That means she is losing the blood with oxygen! And in what world could this be considered a 'good condition'!?"

"Don't worry. I'd guess she is roughly twelve minutes away from awakening her super powerful evil personality due to the overwhelming pain and blood loss. Very impressive indeed. She usually only last around five minutes before going on that rampage so this is very good indeed. Now, let's get moving."

They walked past the seventh booth despite Naruto's attempts of making his senior understand the grave importance of health.

"This is my booth so we can skip it."

The eighth booth contained a young man.

"This is Konohamaru, the grandson of one of the board members. He is technically too young to work here legally so he is simply here on an internship."

The youth waved a greeting to the duo before he turned his attention back to his game, while having a customer talking about something through the headset.

"This last booth belonged to the former manager but I guess you'll sit here from now on. Got any questions before I give you a quick repeat of what you'll do when you're here?"

"Yeah, I got one..."

Iruka encouraged the young man to continue by giving one of his quick yet kind nods.

"...How the hell haven't anyone managed to shut down this department yet..?"

Iruka smiled at the question.

_"Ah, youth. So naive and so much potential. Kakashi-san, this was truly the right choice. We'll mold him into the ultimate support agent. Oh, yes we will..."_

He had a feeling that this kid will be fun to work with...

* * *

"Now then, does that satisfy your questions?"

Iruka smiled at the empty expression before he pinched one of the whiskered cheeks, which naturally caused the young lad to snap out of it.

"What?"

"Glad you are with me. Now then, I feel like it is too early for you to try some support calls despite that long briefing which I doubt you remember so how about some lunch?"

The young man just nodded while he looked around the blood splattered department with a very confused expression. He had a feeling that something strange had happened just now.

"By the way, what's up with all the blood?"

"Oh, that's right. You just missed the rampage of Yakumo-kun. She is so adorable when her evil personality shows up. We have already sealed her in the lunch room so there will be a perfect opportunity for you to get to know everyone better."

"Everyone? Won't there be anyone out here, answering all incoming phone calls?"

"Nah, we close down during lunch. Anyone who tries to call us is connected to the switchboard. By the way, avoid the reception desk whenever you have lunch. The receptionists don't like the increased flow of incoming calls during that hour so they can get a little trigger happy with their ninjutsu and might accidentally aim at you."

"Good to know. What's for lunch?"

Iruka smirked as he leaned forward to whisper a word.

"Ramen..."

Naruto let out an excited grin by that tasty information.

"Awesome. Let's get going then!"

This was indeed the start of a wonderful friendship between the rookie Naruto and the senior Iruka...

* * *

The lunch room was fairly small, with a Spartan design. Two long tables were placed along the long sides of the room while a large round table was stationed in the very center of the room.

Two paintings were hanging on the long walls, one on each. The one to the right had a portrait of a man with huge eyebrows and the other was picturing a gigantic toad that was smoking pipe while resting against a mountain.

A young woman stood behind the counter of the opposite side of the room, while she stared into space, without any focus at all.

Naruto and Iruka entered the room without fanfare, due to the fact that all ninja was completely engrossed with their own food, and the serving lady who seemed to be away in her own dream world.

"This is the lunch room. We usually eat lunch here."

"Okay. That was an obvious statement. Are there other lunch rooms as well?"

"Yeah, most other departments have their own lunch rooms but there is a rumored restaurant or cafeteria on the floor level."

"Rumored?"

"I have only heard of it. Other departments don't like our departments so they haze or bully us sometimes, which is why we don't usually leave our department during work hours."

"Man that sucks!"

"Indeed. Let's get our food and then we'll do your introduction."

The duo squeezed behind two tables and soon stood eye-to-eye with the now focused young woman.

"Hi, Ayame-san. One shrimp ramen please."

"Hello Iruka-kun. One shrimp ramen is coming up. And who is this?" She gestured to the young blond.

"Howdy! I'm Naruto, the new guy! And I'd like a Naruto Special, please!"

She was confused. He was cute but was speaking nonsense..?

"Um, we don't have a 'Naruto Special'..?"

He chuckled and leaned forward, which made her a little uncomfortable. Those bright blue eyes was so distracting...

"That's no problem. I'll tell you what that means since I intend to become a regular here, Ayame-chan..."

He smirked and whispered something in her ear, before leaning back.

She considered his request and did a quick mental calculation of the cost.

"Er, I have the ingredients but I am afraid that you'll have to pay extra then to cover the extra expenses."

"Heh, that's no problem at all. We have a deal! Let me know later what it costs and I'll pay you. That's a promise!" He did a thump ups to her and then sat down at the center table, in the seat that was closest to her, with Iruka beside him.

"Yo everyone! I am Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and I'll be working here with you guys from now on! I hope we all have a good time!"

A quick stand up, a bow and then a dazzling and excited grin, before he sat down.

The following greetings were pretty chill. Mizuki, Konohamaru and Kosuke all welcomed him with smiles and polite phrases.

Suzume gave a brief welcome before she sat down and continued with tapping on some sort of tiny electronical device.

Shikamaru took a brief break from his eating while napping as he took a long look on the newcomer. Then he leaned forward and whispered with a voice fit a conspirer:

"Wanna play some chess later?" which Naruto replied with a silent yet determined nod. Shikamaru smirked at the reply.

"Good, it seems you won't be a troublesome guy. We'll have our duel after work."

"I won't lose."

"Oh, trust me, you _will_..."

Shikamaru had a feeling that this would be a guy he could count and trust on...

Yakumo kept silent as she was tied up in what seemed to be bondage with squiggly lines of ink in the corner of the room so Naruto and everyone else quickly forgot about her due to her complete lack of presence. Fortunately that meant that no one paid any attention to the increasing blush that appeared on her face as she stared at the new cute guy...

The small talk between Naruto, Iruka, Konohamaru, Mizuki and Kosuke was soon interrupted by Ayame who set down in front of Naruto a _very_ large bowl that was stuffed to the brim with ramen ingredients.

"I don't think I missed anything so please enjoy your 'Naruto Special'"

Naruto took a long sniff over the aromatic noodle soup before his eyes watered with emotions.

"Wha-is something wrong?!"

"No. Nothing is wrong. It's just that this is the first time I've seen anyone beside my mom make a perfect 'Naruto Special'... You're a prodigy, Ayame-chan. A genius! I'd eat here for the rest of my days if I could..!" Naruto declared with eyes wet with liquid joy and pride, before he dug into with his meal.

Iruka leaned over and marveled at the impressive meal.

"That is an impressive bowl of ramen. How much does it cost?"

Ayame smiled and said the price.

Naruto choked on noodles as a reaction.

He would, without a doubt, _not_ be able to eat here every day..!

* * *

"Alright, are you ready for your first attempt at telephone support?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just need to hit the green button on the headset, then answer the question from the customer who gets connected to me?"

"Exactly. Have a seat, put on the headset and let me know when you are ready."

"Alright. Here we go..."

Naruto entered the small booth and sat down in the musty and... Is that _mold_?

"Eh, Iruka, why is this chair so disgusting and smelly? I mean there's even mold..."

"Ah, it's our memento of our late manager, Dai-san. He was a great manager and he had even earned the title "The Eternal Genin'"-

Naruto interrupted with a quick "I do not think that title is a compliment."

-"and he sacrificed himself to protect our department when an infamous group of powerful swordsmen from the Ninja Service Department of Water Country attempted to raid us."

"Wait, what?"

"Yes. He used a forbidden technique that made him abnormally powerful in exchange for his life. In fact, the building was almost razed to the ground due to him rampage against the swordsmen so they had to flee. Rumors says that only three of them managed to survive from the injuries that Dai-san inflicted on them."

"No, I mean, why did foreign ninjas attack us!? Are we in a state of war or something!?"

Iruka laughed at Naruto's panicked and confused expression.

"Haha, no, of course this country is not at war. The war against the land of Water ended a few years, and we have always been allied with the lands of Lightning, Earth and Wind, so there is no need to worry, since there is peace in the realm."

Iruka patted the moldy chair with a fond expression.

"We keep this chair as a memento of Dai-san's courage, honor and his sacrifice. Of course, we will now also have to wash it since you'll be using it but that will have to wait until tomorrow."

Naruto did not like the thought of sitting in a moldy chair but he was here to work so why complaining about something that would be fixed soon anyway?

"Alright, fine, anything else that I need to know before I start? Is it a risk of my well-being to work here or something?"

He asked with sarcasm due to the presence of the clearly unstable Yakumo who apparently went on rampages in the room and the mold on his chair but Iruka apparently took the question seriously, and somehow missed the two most obvious risks.

"...No, there shouldn't be any risks. You might find yourself in a 'Random Encounter' but I'll tell you what that means later. Now then, please get started and don't be afraid to ask any questions if you are unsure. I'll be in my booth. Good luck!"

Iruka sat down in his own booth and Naruto took a deep breath, to calm his nerves. This is it. This is where he would prove his worth...

He briefly thought about something unpleasant.

_Two figures, towering over him with their backs turned against him, bathing him in the shadows of their accomplishments..._

He shook his head to perish the thought. He is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and he would show them. He would surpass them. There's no doubt about that!

And then, the path to Greatness, Glory and future Wealth opened as he pressed the green button and then felt a voice speak to him through the headset.

"Hi and welcome to the Ninja support! My name is Naruto and how can I be of service for you today?"


End file.
